James Conner a girls basketball coach raped one of his players

[Sister Iroz]

James Conner WOBURN, Mass.—A popular girls basketball coach at the Melrose YMCA has been charged with raping one of his young players over several years.

James Conner of North Reading was arraigned in Woburn District Court on Friday on charges including two counts of rape of a child by force. Connor is being held until a further bail hearing on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said the victim was under 14 when the alleged crimes occurred. The office is investigating whether there were other victims.

The 51-year-old Conner has been suspended from his job as site director at the YMCA.

YMCA president Richard Whitworth said the charges were a "shock." He said most people thought Connor was a great coach and did a wonderful job at the Y.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...raping_player/

[brokenandtwisted]

First thing I thought of when the page loaded was "EWWWW". He couldn't have been a hot, young 20-something new-teacher? Very lame.

Hmmm. Anyone else think only gay males should be coaches for women's teams? Would stop these rapes and horror stories we hear...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Anyone else think only gay males should be coaches for women's teams? Would stop these rapes and horror stories we hear...

NO! Because I think so many gay males are HOT (not all) and then the teen girls would toss themselves at him. Nothing would get done. The team would suck with only giggly teen girls on it. The coach would probably have to quit because of sexual harassment.

[malq]

First thing I thought of when the page loaded was "EWWWW". He couldn't have been a hot, young 20-something new-teacher? Very lame.

Hmmm. Anyone else think only gay males should be coaches for women's teams? Would stop these rapes and horror stories we hear...

LOL well, that's one way.
I think the best way is to educate the youth about these situations and try to keep their esteem up. Given it happened over a period of a few years I doubt if this was a forcible rape,(at least the first one) rather one of power and coercion.
They do use the words forcible rape though. Fucker....

[nurseronda]

BOSTON -- A YMCA girls basketball coach has been indicated on several charges, including five counts of child rape, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said Thursday.

James Conner, 51, of North Reading, was indicted by a grand jury on 20 counts involving two victims, including five counts of rape of child by force; four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child; two counts of posing a child in a state of nudity; two counts of posing a child in sexual conduct; photographing/videotaping a nude person without their knowledge; interception of oral communications; and intimidation of a witness, Leone said.

"Not only did he engage in forcible rape, but we have recovered the videotapes of James Conner raping and sexually assaulting both of these young girls," Leone said.

Conner was arrested in February and arraigned on two counts of rape of a child by force and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Conner has been free since February on $25,000 bail.

In addition to his role as assistant director of the after-school program, Conner was also a girls basketball coach at the YMCA.

No new arraignment date has been set for Conner.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...77/detail.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Before James Conner allegedly raped two girls while working at the Melrose YMCA, he worked at the Andover-North Andover YMCA and slept next to a young girl, let kids sit on his lap and nicknamed a girl "Princess," according to interviews and state documents.

Staff members at the Andover-North Andover YMCA reported Conner's conduct to their superiors and Conner was fired from the facility in 2001, after having worked there since 1995, according to Stephen Ives, president and CEO of Merrimack Valley YMCA.

The Melrose YMCA hired him shortly after his firing here. He was arrested on child rape and pornography charges in February, according to two recently released reports from the state Department of Early Education and Care.

"It's unbelievable," said Michael Tibaudo, who worked as a counselor-in-training at the Andover-North Andover YMCA and reported Conner's "weird" behavior to his supervisor.

The state reports do not levy allegations of sexual abuse against Conner during his time working at the Andover-North Andover YMCA. But they explain that staff there raised warning flags about his unusually close contact with children.

Now, the 51-year-old North Reading resident is facing more than 20 sex-related charges involving victims from the Melrose YMCA. The charges include forcible child rape committed against two victims he coached in girls basketball and multiple child pornography crimes for using hidden cameras to film his assaults. The girls were younger than 14 at the time, according to a press release from Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone's office.

Conner has posted bail and is being monitored by GPS, according to Leone's press release.
[...]

After Conner's arrest, Anne Daly-Conners, an investigator for the Department of Early Education and Care, interviewed administrators at the Melrose YMCA and reviewed Conner's personnel record. She learned Conner was fired from not only the Andover-North Andover YMCA, but also the Reading YMCA.

A former administrator in Reading told Daly-Conners about allegations that Conner "rented a bus for an end-of-the-year party" and "drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with the 15- and 16-year-old counselors".
[...]
The investigator spoke to three former administrators of the Andover-North Andover YMCA, two of whom reported warning the Melrose YMCA about Conner.
[...]

Read the rest of the crap: http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/l...136224840.html

These people KNEW his history and hired him or kept him on??? He had red flags all over the place.